From A Window

In the late spring of 1996 my wife Robin, my daughter Nica, our infant son Lowell and I spent 2 months in the village of Villa Latina in central Italy. One morning I awoke around 3 a.m. with no hope of returning to sleep. I couldn't play the piano, as it was in our small bedroom, but our upstairs neighbor had lent me a little keyboard, and with headphones on I wrote most of the compositions which made up the original 4 plus 1 repertoire. By breakfast I had come up with the idea of forming an ensemble with Reggie, Julian, Eyvind and most importantly using my friend and production cohort Tucker Martine in a live context. By noon I was ready to go back to bed. Soon thereafter we recorded a CD for a small German label. Without having played a single live concert we made what I thought was the most interesting record I had made in a while. More than a year passed before we got around to doing a short European tour. Sadly, Julian Priester had to cancel at the last minute so he could undergo surgery for a liver transplant. In his place we brought along our friend and collaborator Skerik on baritone saxophone. The promise of our initial efforts seemed to increase 3-fold, after a week of concerts Tucker really started playing like another instrument, and something I'd been searching for finally came to life. When we got back into the studio things just fell into place. I've never had such an easy time making music in the studio, and rarely been so pleased with the result. This CD is a reflection of that, with Julian back in the fold, playing his heart out and looking 20 years younger. I hope you enjoy this music. Wayne Horvitz Seattle, February 2001 Recorded and mixed at Litho, Seattle, WA August 2000 Crispin and Lisa's Duet taken from a commission by the Crispin Spaeth Dance Company. Willy's Music taken from a commission by ACT Theatre, Seattle for the score to Death of a Salesman.